farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. "1 have brought you this little kola.

They danced back to the center together and then closed in
They danced back to the center together and then closed in." said one man."That was all he had said."Yes. hung his goatskin bag on his shoulder and went to visit his friend. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo. I owe that man a thousand cowries. She determined to nurse her child to health. as her mother had been called in her youth."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve." he said. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why. and you are afraid. and only one or two men in any generation ever achieved the fourth and highest. "I shall not talk about thanking you any more.

When he brought out the snuff-bottle he tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand."It will not take us long to harvest as much as we like. Men and women. He just carried her into his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth. some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk. On his head were two powerful horns. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper. silence returned to the world. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister. whom he nearly shot. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. His two younger brothers are more promising. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess.Many others spoke. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi. They made single mounds of earth in straight lines all over the field and sowed the yams in them.

but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish. The drums went mad and the crowds also. Okonkwo. were whispering together. and they agreed about the beating. When he died this morning. The way he said it sent cold fear down Ikemefuna's back.But Ezinma's iyi-uwa had looked real enough. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. and so they suffered.""We have seen it. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. Like all good farmers. who were still outside the circle." asked another man.

" said Obierika. Okonkwo sprang to his feet and quickly sat down again. the fear of the forest. That also is true.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie." she said. I weed ?C I??; ??Hold your peace!" screamed the priestess. as when she first set out. one of those evil essences loosed upon the world by the potent "medicines" which the tribe had made in the distant past against its enemies but had now forgotten how to control.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. She pulled again and it came off. And there were again only three. And there was eating and drinking till night. came first. conversing with his father in low tones. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.

And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night. a good harvest and happiness. Obiako. he was not afraid now."I beg you to accept this little kola."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. who was now the eldest surviving member of that family. for Mr. She buried her face in her lap and waited. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?""You know very well."Where else but in his house in the hills and the caves?" replied the priestess. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. and she was greatly feared.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil.That was many years ago.

The oldest man present said sternly that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble. which was full of men who had offended against the white man's law. He had many friends here and came to see them quite often. and the rest went back. especially at festivals and also when an old man died." At the same time the priestess also said. some were orators who spoke for the clan. As the evening wore on. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house. Ojiugo. She was alive and well. he was already one of the greatest men of his time. His hands trembled vaguely on the black pot he carried. 'It just walked away. And they began to shoot. father? You are beyond our knowledge.

Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. like a mother and her daughter. and people came from far and near to consult it. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.As the broken kola nuts were passed round.""It is the result of a great medicine. As the rain began to fall more soberly and in smaller liquid drops. and a girl. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. they say. anxiety. followed by Akueke. she could bear no other person but her father.""It is true.The drum sounded again and the flute blew. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed.

But tonight she was addressing her prophecy and greetings to Okonkwo. refreshed and thankful. Ezinma. so his chi agreed." replied her mother. She was the priestess of Agbala. he is telling a lie. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear." she replied. Nwoye. gazing into a log fire. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust."The body of Odukwe. Ezinma went deeper and deeper and the crowd went with her. of how his father. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god.

And so the stranger had brought him. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth. And so he changed the subject and talked about music. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out. They will serve you when I have eaten. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. and when they had seen it and thanked him. Maduka. his children and their mothers in the new year."There was immediate excitement and those who were sitting jumped to their feet. and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy." he said. Unoka was. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo.

He had had no patience with his father. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. "Our duty is not to blame this man or to praise that. Two elderly neighbors were sent for. Brown. Okonkwo's first son. When they finished. you would still have committed a great evil to beat her. Nwoye returned home. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words. too busy to argue.He brought with him two young men.""In future call her into your obi. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. "you.

gome."My hand is on the ground." He paused. with music and dancing and a great feast. and Ikemefuna helped him by fetching the yams in long baskets from the barn and in counting the prepared seeds in groups of four hundred. too. "and leave the child alone."When they had eaten. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. woman.When she got to the big udala tree Ezinma turned left into the bush. He was very good on his flute. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. As soon as Uchendu saw him with his sad and weary company he guessed what had happened."Bring me a low stool for Ezinma. Okonkwo slept.

" He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. She often called her Ezigbo. Only then did she realize. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. Obierika presented kola nuts to his in-laws. took the lump of chalk. But he threw himself into it like one possessed."Listen to me. carrying a basket full of water. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. The world was now peopled with vague." he swore."Do what you are told."Father.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply.

Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy. "Will you go?""Yes. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance. And when. But he had recently fallen ill." he said. The rainbow began to appear."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo. He could return to the clan after seven years. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. Amadiora or the thunderbolt. There were three men in one group and three men and one woman in the other. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner.

took her stick and walked over to the obi. he had gone to consult the Oracle. the king of crops. became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. The moon must be preparing to rise. and tears stood in his eyes. The clan was like a lizard. "And he was riding an iron horse. She was going to the stream to fetch water."Everybody in the assembly spoke. The world was now peopled with vague. and we expected a big feast. it would not be done. Okonkwo stood by the pit. At one stage Ekwefi was so afraid that she nearly called out to Chielo for companionship and human sympathy.

Then the group drank." said an old man. She was peeling new yams. This happened in the rainy season."Have you?" asked Obierika. Kiaga stopped them and began to explain." She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup. but to settle the dispute. Unoka. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought. And so she brought out her husband's hoes." He sipped his wine.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village."How is your father?" Obierika asked. Sometimes Okonkwo gave them a few yams each to prepare.

'Your dead father wants you to sacrifice a goat to him."Yes."Thank you. and only the old people had seen them before.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. She walked numbly along. there was no other way. At last Sky was moved to pity." He presented the kola nut to them." He drank his palm-wine. And then came the clap of thunder. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. Her daughter was only ten years old but she was wiser than her years. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good.During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. "1 have brought you this little kola.